


Ultra Hyper Strongest Duelist, Neo New Sawatari

by Poltergay



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27195428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poltergay/pseuds/Poltergay
Summary: Sawatari Shingo has not been feeling particularly ultra, hyper, or strong as of late. Fresh off a string of losses, his enthusiasm for duel monsters is at an all time low, and his penchant for entertainment is missing. But as he finds himself roped into the increasingly desperate schemes of Kurosaki Shun, he finds a teacher in sudden appearance of the ignis, Ai. Will Ai reignite Sawatari's passion for entertainment dueling? Or will Sawatari find himself in over his head as Shun stops at nothing to bring back was lost?
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Ultra Hyper Strongest Duelist, Neo New Sawatari**

Losing. The feeling of a fresh loss, pushing back the rising despair within, and smiling to your opponent. Even if you constantly lose, the very word loser synonymous with your name, you’re expected to suck it up, and smile. In the case of Sawatari Shingo, it wasn’t _just_ a game. Wars were raged with cards, cards were social capital. But he was expected to smile through defeat, all the same.

Sawatari was the mayor of Maiami City’s son first and foremost. And he used to think that meant something. He would walk around town like he owned the place, cronies never too far. And people used to respect him. Because in Maiami City, respect was based on dueling. And Sawatari thought he was pretty good at dueling. Heck, he’d been selected for the Lancer’s initiative, so he must be good. But then he lost every duel, always relying on his friends to bail him out.

Sawatari became quite set on hyping himself up after every defeat. First, he was “Neo Sawatari”. Defeat was a thing of the past, now it was nothing but upwards movement for this rising star. Then he lost again. He became “Neo New Sawatari”. His deck was much better than his opponent. But his opponent used “Action Cards”, a mechanic that relied more on athletic ability than ability to play card games, so Sawatari lost again. Then Sawatari got pendulum cards. Pendulum cards were only used by Yuya Sakaki, the founder of pendulum, and Reiji Akaba, a certified big deal. So naturally, Sawatari decided he would start winning from here on out.

But he didn’t.

After enough losses working for the Lancer’s Initiative, Sawatari gave himself more nicknames. If you compiled every nickname Sawatari gave himself, his title would be “Ultra Hyper Strongest Duelist, New Neo Sawatari”. A terrifying title to be sure, but empty, and worthless. 

After the lancer’s initiative, Sawatari became a bit of a joke. He tried to become a pro duelist, but he lost every duel. His cronies left him. The pompous blustering duelist of the past slowly disappeared, replaced by a hopeless trainwreck. A newer Sawatari, but certainly not an improvement.

These days, Sawatari suffered through dueling, aware of the result before it began. His father distanced himself, as Sawatari’s status as a joke within the Maiami community had made it difficult for his father to get reelected. Sawatari spent time with the other lancers, but they were busy with their own lives. The only Lancer with time for Sawatari was Shun Kurosaki, but outings with Shun were often dreary. 

Nonetheless, Sawatari was headed to Shun’s apartment on a regular Tuesday night. He’d brought an assortment of video games and board games, not really sure what Shun did for fun. Sawatari dropped his copy of Jenga as he knocked on Shun’s door. Shun opened the door, and sighed at the mess of blocks on the floor.

“Come in.” Shun said.

Sawatari dumped his games on Shun’s couch, and quickly went back outside to gather the Jenga blocks. Shun wore the same tattered coat he always wore, a remembrance of his lost dimension. 

“Hello Shun!” Sawatari said.

“Please call me Kurosaki.” Shun said.

“Uh, sure.”

Shun stepped back, and examined Sawatari, sizing him up. “So, I’m guessing you’re wondering why I called you here tonight?” Shun asked.

“Not really. I assumed we were going to be playing board games.” Sawatari said.

“We’re not going to be playing board games.”

“Oh.”

“Sawatari, I believe you are in a similar situation as I am.”

“Oh?”

“You were given the short end of the stick by the Lancer’s Initiative. You went and fought an interdimensional war, and your reward at the end was ridicule and shame.”

Sawatari rubbed his eyes, and sighed. “Doesn’t that seem a bit ridiculous to you?”

“Your situation? Absolutely.”

“No, no, An interdimensional war fought by card games. And the entire fate of the world hinging on those card games. And then our friend turned into a big dragon, and we turned him back into a human with more card games. I don’t know, the constant losing has given me some clarity, and it seems a bit silly.

“I watched my entire dimension get wiped out by these “silly” card games,” Shun glared.

“Ok yeah but that’s really silly too, why did that happen?” Sawatari said abruptly. He quickly regretted it as he saw the pained look on Shun’s face. 

Shun punched the wall. “I don’t know! Why did we sit around watching Yuya Sakaki try to make a baby smile, so that he could bring back his girlfriend but none of my friends?” 

“That is a good question.” Sawatari said quietly. Shun’s best friend, Yuto, and sister, Ruri, had both been eliminated from existence by the “Happy Ending” to the Lancer’s Initiative. Yuya Sakaki had used the same rhetoric on Shun as he did everyone: Just smile, and it will be better. And Shun had listened, for about a week. Smiling through the pain. But he couldn’t handle anything past that. He’d broken down crying in the middle of a duel with Yuya, as Yuya summoned his friend’s ace, Dark XYZ Rebellion Dragon. Shun had been somewhat of a recluse ever since.

“That is why I’ve asked you here, Sawatari. None of this end result makes sense for anyone but Yuya Sakaki. And yet he constantly tells us to smile. It’s bullshit, and I’m going to fix it.”

“You’re what?”

“I broke into LEO industries, and stole two Lancer duel disks. The ones that used to be able to cut through dimensions.” Shun reached into a bag, and spread out two duel disks on the table. 

“Doesn’t that seem like a silly thing for a duel disk to be able to do?” Sawatari said. Shun ignored him.

“Sawatari, you’re going to duel me. And the passion of our duel, it will cut through dimensions. Yuto and Ruri… they’ll be with me again.

“Um.” Sawatari looked at Shun’s face, coated in raw emotion. His eyes about to burst, highlighted by dark eye bags. There was no way he could say no to this. 

“Ok.” Sawatari sighed.

“You go first, Sawatari.” Shun said.

Shun’s deck was better going second, so it was quite silly to act as though Shun was doing him a favor. All the same, Sawatari muttered thanks, picked up one of the two duel disks on the table, and drew five cards.

“I’ll set one monster and end my turn.” Sawatari said.

Shun scoffed, and drew a card. Sawatari yawned, and checked his phone. When he looked back up, Shun had a board of five XYZ monsters, and was screaming “ATTACK!”

“Oh hey.” Sawatari said. Shun’s monsters knocked over his TV, and coffee table, and tore up his couch, but he got the win. Shun pressed a button on his duel disk, and it made a sharp beep.

He stood still, on the verge of tears, as he waited for something, anything to happen. “Press yours too.” He said.

Sawatari sat up, and pressed a button on the side of his duel disk. For one second, a purple mist rose up from the duel disk. Shun wiped away his tears, and walked forwards. Immediately, the duel disk let out a shrill beep, and electricity began to emerge from it. Then, it began to smoke. It set off Shun’s fire alarm, as a third shrill beep joined the mix. Shun sighed, got a chair to stand on, and turn the alarm off.

“Thank you for your help Sawatari. But I think it was pointless.” Shun dropped his duel disk to the ground, and plopped onto his tattered couch. Sawatari rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say. The still smoking duel disk singed his hair.

“I’m sorry Shun. Maybe it was my lack of dueling spirit? We can try again if you’d like, and I’ll be more enthusiastic.” Sawatari said.

Shun shook his head. “No, I think you’re right. It is silly to expect cards to fix everything. It’s just… if cards can take everything away from me, why can’t they bring it back?”

Sawatari didn’t know what to say. He felt like hugging Shun, but decided it may be unwelcome. Instead, he patted Shun on the back, keeping his hand on his shoulder for five seconds in a comforting gesture. Shun straightened up as he realized he’d lost his typical cool composure, and looked thankfully over to the Sawatari, awkwardly standing next to the couch.

“You’re different Sawatari.” Shun said. “Take care of yourself, ok?”

Sawatari nodded, and smiled warmly, a silent understanding between the two. After an attempt at further small talk ended unfruitfully, Sawatari quietly excused himself, a gesture appreciated by both conversationalists. As he left the apartment, he looked at the sky and smiled. Tonight had felt real, genuine. He’d been simply going through the motions for far too long. Sawatari made it home, and waved hello to his father. His father nodded blankly. Sawatari walked upstairs to his room, and plopped onto his bed.

Something smelled like burning.

Sawatari realized he still had the smoldering duel disk attached to his wrist, and quickly flung it off. It hit the floor with a clunk. On impact, a blinding beam of purple energy shot out of the display glass. Sawatari screamed, and hid under his covers.

“Huh…? Huh?”

The voice came from the duel disk. Sawatari slowly peeked out of his covers, and gasped.

The smoldering duel disk had grown an eye. 

“Hello! Could you tell me where I am?” The eye called out. Sawatari lifted his head from the covers, inquisitively.

“You’re in Maiami City.” Sawatari said. “Are you… Yuto?”

“Yuto? What’s a Yuto?”

“Oh, never mind.” Sawatari sighed. “I was trying to help a fellow duelist bring back his loved ones, but I guess we took you instead. You’re not from this dimension, are you?”

“Dimension?” The eye tried to look inquisitive, but it was just an eye. Realizing this, it morphed into a tiny purple humanoid. Sawatari laughed.

“Ok you’re definitely not from this dimension. But it’s nice to meet you, I’m Sawatari Shingo.” Sawatari extended his hand, intrigued by the interdimensional visitor. The small purple humanoid grabbed the tip of Sawatari’s finger tip and shook with surprising strength for its size.

“I’m Ai. Is this the afterlife? Though Ignis don’t go to the afterlife, so that can’t be right…”

“The afterlife? No, this is Maiami city.” Sawatari said, looking at Ai oddly. “Why would this be the afterlife?”

“I… I think I should be dead. The last thing I remember is holding _him_. Telling him I loved him. And then… black.” Ai looked lost in thought. Sawatari got out of bed, and sat next to him, concerned.

“That’s um… sorry about that.” Sawatari said uneasily. “So, are you an AI, or is your name Ai?”

“Yes.” Ai said nonchalantly. Sawatari looked confused.

“You said your name was Sawatari Shingo?” Ai asked. Sawatari nodded. “I think whatever you did tonight saved my life.”

“Oh, well I wouldn’t go that far…”

“Are you a duelist?” Ai asked.

“Yes.” Sawatari answered immediately, surprising himself with his enthusiasm. Ai nodded. 

“Well Sawatari, you’re in luck. I’m the best dueling AI to ever exist, and I’ll need help navigating this dimension of yours. In return, I’ll make you the best duelist this town has ever seen. Which is to say, “Ai” am at your service.”

Sawatari cusped his hand against his chin, pondering Ai’s words. Ai fell over as Sawatari didn’t get the word play.

“I um… can you excuse me?”

Sawatari ran to his restroom. Ai climbed out of the duel disk onto Sawatari’s gaming chair, and started to examine his desktop. He stepped backwards, and then ran into the desktop at full speed, cracking it, and knocking it over.

“Sawatari, your computer isn’t connected to cyberspace.” Ai yelled out.

“I don’t know what that is!” Sawatari yelled back from the bathroom.

Sawatari examined himself in the mirror. He slicked back a tuft of blonde hair, and made finger guns at his reflection. He chuckled half heartedly.

“I am the new Sawatari. I am the Neo New Sawatari.” he said to his reflection. “I am the Ultra Hyper, Strongest Duelist, Neo New Sawatari.” 

He frowned into the mirror, unable to convince himself.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” He began. His demeanor rose in energy, and he began to smile. He started to yell. “It is I, the greatest duelist, Sawatari Shingo. Prepare to be amazed by the Ultra Hyper, Strongest Duelist.”

Sawatari smiled at himself in the mirror, and bowed to his reflection. He went back into his room, eye sparkling, and picked up the duel disk on the floor, oblivious to the clearly broken desktop.

“I’m ready to learn, Ai. Please teach me.”


	2. The Puzzling Pendulum Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawatari duels, despite receiving zero training from his so called "teacher".
> 
> Authors Note: I wrote the duel in this chapter with the intention of being easy to follow, and as clear as possible. That being said, I have also hyperlinked every card name within the text, so that readers can look at the cards themselves for clarification.

“That sounds super fake.” Ai said, narrowing his eyes.

“What, Pendulum? It's definitely a real thing. You just told me that your dimension has a type of summoning that completely envelopes every other type of summoning, to the point of relying on it to function. Why is Pendulum Summoning harder to believe than that?”

“Well because Link Summoning is real.” Ai said, matter of fact. “Something seems very off about this Pendulum business.”

“That’s not-” Sawatari sighed. “Ok so Zarc did create it in an attempt to rule the world but other than that it's a really cool summoning type.”

“No no, that’s not it.” Ai waved his hand dismissively. “My deck was created in an attempt to rule the world and it makes much more sense than Pendulum. You said that they’re spells, AND monsters? That seems kind of stupid.”

“Listen, can you teach me something? We’ve spent the last thirty minutes talking about Pendulum summoning, and my match is coming up soon. I was hoping to learn something before the match.”

Sawatari sat on a bench just outside of the arena, nervously twitching his leg as Ai frowned at his Pendulum cards. It occurred to him to forfeit the match, as the result seemed a foregone conclusion with the zero training Ai had given him. Ai had promised to teach him to duel, but insisted on lazing off the day before, stating his head hurt after running into Sawatari’s desktop computer. Now, minutes before Sawatari’s next professional duel, he was beginning to doubt Ai’s intentions.

“Oh, I figured I should see you duel before I teach you anything. Just to see where you’re at. I’ll give you advice while you’re dueling if you need it, it’ll be fiiiine.” Ai said.

“What.” Sawatari frowned.

“Folks, it’s time for our next match!” 

Sawatari sighed, and walked into the Arena.

“It’s Nico Smiley here, to commentate this upcoming Duel.” The speakers blared. The mustachioed Nico Smiley showed up on the large screen overlooking the stadium, and smiled, making the peace sign. 

“And wow, do we have a match for you tonight! In one corner, we have Bram Sato, the dueling Knight! He is a professional duelist from overseas, we’re quite lucky to have him tonight.”

A man wearing shining armor approached the field, and bowed to the crowd. The crowd cheered.

“And in the other corner, we have one of the Lancers, _Sawaguchi Shiro_!” Nico Smiley yelled with certainty. Someone approached Smiley from off camera, and whispered into his ear. 

“My mistake, his name is Sawatari Shingo! Sawatari, why don’t you join us?” Smiley said.

Sawatari slowly drifted onto the duel field, unsure of every step. “He remembered the guy who dresses up as a knight but not me…” he muttered.

Ai popped out of Sawatari’s duel disk. “Hey, don’t judge a guy for cosplaying, it's fun! Haven’t you ever cosplayed and dueled?”

Sawatari sighed. “I used to, for dramatic effect.”

Ai’s face lit up. “Hey, me too!”

“It was stupid.” Sawatari snapped.

“Who are you talking to?” 

The question came from Bram, standing across the dueling field.

“Oh uh, noone.” Sawatari said. “Are you even allowed to be here giving me advice?” He whispered to Ai.

“Maybe.” Ai shrugged. “That’s only a problem if they see me, and they won’t! Probably. I am pretty small.”

Sawatari looked up at the wide screen tv projecting the match. Ai’s head was visibly sticking out of his duel disk on the screen. Sawatari shook his head and sighed once more.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Smiley said. Bram nodded.

 **Sawatari LP** : 4000 **Bram LP** : 4000

 **Turn 1** : Bram

“I’ll go first. I draw! I set [ Dragonies, the Empowered Warrior ](https://imgur.com/a/8yuLnri) , and [ Dragonox, the Empowered Warrior ](https://imgur.com/a/8oFEBjc) to my Pendulum Zones. Now, I’ll Pendulum Summon! I call upon your dark powers, [ Aether, the Evil Empowering Dragon ](https://imgur.com/a/B9PTT0a)!” Bram looked towards Sawatari, expecting a reaction. Sawatari yawned, and rubbed his eyes. “You’re not one for theatrics, are you Sawatari Shingo?”

“I… I like to think I am.” Sawatari objected.

“I just summoned a high level monster, on the first turn! Surely this deserves an expression of awe.” Bram said.

“So? Everyone can do that, literally the entire dimension uses Pendulum Monsters now.” Sawatari said. 

“Now I remember,” Nico Smiley began. “Sawatari is the stoic, serious member of the Lancers. He uses XYZ! Watch out for his signature Raid Raptors in the coming turn, folks.”

“That’s Kurosaki Shun!” Sawatari yelled. “I’m the entertainment duelist, Sawatari Shingo.”

“But Yuya is the entertainment duelist in the lancers.” Smiley said. 

“There can be two entertainment duelists in the lancers.” Sawatari grumbled. “I draw!”

 **Sawatari LP** : 4000 **Bram LP** : 4000

 **Turn 2** : Sawatari

“There’s definitely something up with Pendulum Monsters.” Ai said, scratching his chin.

“If you’re not going to give me useful advice, please shut up.” Sawatari said. “I need to focus.”

Sawatari looked at his hand, shuffling the cards between his fingers. “I set the Pendulum Scale with [ Abyss Actor - Twinkle Little Star ](https://imgur.com/a/LRXZzeJ) , and [ Abyss Actor - Extras ](https://imgur.com/a/IM57Mny) . Now, I Pendulum Summon! I summon [ Abyss Actor - Wild Hope ](https://imgur.com/a/GQkwTko) , [ Abyss Actor - Leading Lady ](https://imgur.com/a/0z4qzVl) , and [ Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie ](https://imgur.com/a/Z35gws1)!”

“A bunch of weaklings won’t do anything against my high level monster.” Bram said.

Ai poked up from the duel disk, and laughed. “He says that like you don’t have any extra deck monsters. You have three level fours out, go into a rank 4 XYZ!”

Sawatari stood there, silently.

“Sawatari.” Ai looked up

“Ai.” Sawatari grimaced.

“Do you not have any extra deck monsters?”

“They confuse me, OK!?” Sawatari said.

The crowd looked on in confusion as Sawatari talked to his duel disk.

“It’s fine, I don’t need them. I have a plan.” Sawatari said. “I activate [ Wild Hope’s ](https://imgur.com/a/GQkwTko) effect, allowing it to gain 100 attack for each monster on the field. ( **Wild Hope Atk** : 1600 -> 1900)

“That’s still not enough attack points to take down my dragon!” Bram exclaimed.

“... Yeah, I know that. I attack your dragon with Sassy Rookie.”

“But it has-”

“Yeah, it has more attack.” Sawatari said, visibly annoyed. “But my Sassy Rookie can’t be destroyed by battle once per turn.

“But you still-”

“But I _still take the damage,_ yes, I’ve been told.” Sawatari said. ( **Sawatari LP** : 4000 -> 3400)

“I activate the effect of [ Abyss Actor - Leading Lady ](https://imgur.com/a/0z4qzVl). When I take damage, I can lower your monster’s attack equal to the damage I took, which gives your dragon 1700 attack. Now, I attack your dragon with Wild Hope!”

“A clever strategy! I commend you. But unfortunately, it won’t be enough. I activate the effect of [ Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior ](https://imgur.com/a/8yuLnri) in my Pendulum Zone. This _Drago_ makes sure that your monster _dies_ , get it? I can discard one card in my hand, and your monster loses half of its attack. Corrupting Blast! 

( **Wild Hope Atk** : 1900 -> 850) ( **Sawatari LP** : 3400 -> 2550)

“Ugh.” Sawatari groaned.

“Sawatari tried to go on the offensive, but failed miserably!” Nico Smiley exclaimed. “One can only wonder if he’ll survive another turn.”

“This is fine.” Sawatari said, to no one in particular. “I activate the effect of [ Wild Hope ](https://imgur.com/a/GQkwTko) . It allows me to add another [ Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie ](https://imgur.com/a/Z35gws1) to my hand. Next, I’ll activate the effect of [ Abyss Actor - Extras ](https://imgur.com/a/IM57Mny), allowing me to summon it in defense mode from my pendulum zone. I’ll now activate my newly searched Sassy Rookie in the now empty Pendulum Zone. Finally, I’ll set one monster, and end my turn.”

“Pendulum Monsters have too many effects.” Ai muttered.

 **Sawatari LP** **:** 2550 **Bram LP** **:** 4000

 **Turn 3** : Bram

“I draw!” 

Bram looked at the card he drew, and laughed. “I’m afraid today is not your day, Sawamura.”

“It’s Sawatari!”

“Whatever. I tribute my [ Aether, the Evil Empowering Dragon ](https://imgur.com/a/B9PTT0a) to summon _another_ Aether, the Evil Empowering Dragon! This time, it can use its effect. I banish one monster from your field. I’ll pick… Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie, it’s destruction immunity is annoying.”

Sawatari grimaced, and moved Rookie into the banish slot of his duel disk. Ai thought about telling him to stop losing, but decided to workshop it, and consider a more polite way to phrase this important advice.

“But it doesn’t stop there! Next, I Pendulum Summon! You’re in for double trouble now, because I’m summoning _two_ more Aether the Empowering Dragon, one from my hand, and one from face-up in my extra deck!”

“I forgot he can summon it from the extra deck.” Ai remarked. Sawatari didn’t appreciate the comment.

“I’ll proceed to banish two more of your monsters! I’ll banish your Leading Lady, and your face-down monster!” 

“You can banish face-down monsters? But it didn’t even get to see any play! Sawatari said. 

“Too bad! It’s gone now.” Bram laughed.

“Now the audience will never know what it was.” Sawatari muttered as he moved Abyss Actor - Leading Lady and his set monster into his banish zone.

“It’s over for you! I attack Abyss Actor - Extras with my first Aether!”

“Not so fast.” Sawatari’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “[ Sassy Rookie’s ](https://imgur.com/a/Z35gws1) effect activates in the Pendulum Zone, allowing me to destroy it instead of Extras.”

“Then I’ll attack it again! And with extras out of the way, I’ll attack you directly.” Bram grinned, a sure look on his face.

Sawatari groaned as he took the brunt of the attack. ( **Sawatari LP** : 2550 -> 250)

“And with that, I’ll end my turn. Hit me with your best shot, Sekigawa Shinji!”

That’s not- ugh nevermind.”

 **Sawatari LP** : 250 **Bram LP** : 4000

 **Turn 4** : Sawatari Shingo

“I draw!”

Sawatari closed his eyes, afraid that he would not draw the right card. He opened then slightly, and peeked at his draw.

“That’s actually a good draw!” Sawatari said. “I activate [ Pendulum Halt ](https://imgur.com/a/9GwhWfz)! This allows me to draw two cards if I have three or more Pendulum monsters with different names in my face-up extra deck. The trade off is I can’t add anymore cards from my deck to my hand.”

“But you only have two monsters in your face-up extra deck, Wild Hope and Extras. Weren’t the rest banished?” Ai asked.

“True, but the Sassy Rookie that left my field as a spell counts as a monster in the extra deck.”

“Gross.” Ai said.

“Why am I teaching you, I thought it was supposed to be the other way around.” Sawatari muttered. He drew his two cards, and examined them in deep thought.

“I’ve got it!” Ai exclaimed, rising up from the digital crevice in Sawatari’s duel disk. “I know what bugs me about Pendulum monsters. They’re really bad.”

Sawatari crouched down, desperately trying to hide Ai from the crowd. They didn’t seem to notice at all, an oblivious mob of unknown faces.

“What do you mean, bad? You can summon so many monsters at once. And then re-summon them. And some guy literally made them to take over the world, why would he make a _bad_ summoning type?” Sawatari said

“That guy’s an idiot, these cards are trash. A dumpster fire. Actual litter, waiting to be picked up by a maid robot. Do you guys have maid robots here?” Ai said

“What? No.” Sawatari said.

“Drat. I guess you’ll have to be my sidekick instead.” Ai laughed. 

“You’ve offered nothing of use to me this entire duel.” Sawatari grumbled. He turned to face a puzzled Bram. “I set [ Abyss Actor - Evil Heel ](https://imgur.com/a/b9GsaJR) in the Pendulum Zone. Now, I Pendulum Summon! I Summon [ Abyss Actor - Superstar ](https://imgur.com/a/dtfBnTm) from my hand, and Abyss Actor - Wild Hope and Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie from my extra deck. 

“A respectable swarm!” Bram said. “But you’ll have to do better than that if you plan to take down my three dragons.”

“Oh, I plan to. I activate Superstar’s effect, retrieving an Abyss Script from my deck.”

“But you can’t add cards from your deck to your hand because of Pendulum Halt.” Bram said, eyes narrowed.

“Abyss Actor - Superstar sets the Abyss Script directly to my field, so it circumvents that restriction!” Sawatari said.

“An impressive combo!” Bram said. “Perhaps you will manage to damage me before you lose.”

Sawatari silently agreed, victory seeming out of reach at this stage. Ai tapped Sawatari on the shoulder.

“What?” Sawatari said.

“You’re going to destroy both of his Pendulum Scales with your spell, right?” Ai said. “That’s clearly the best play here. My analysis shows that Pendulums are overly reliant on their scales, and fall apart when they leave the field.”

“What? No, I’m going to destroy all of his monsters, and do as much damage as I can. If he has nothing to stop me, I’ll do a lot of damage.”

“But there’s still one Pendulum Monster- er, Pendulum _spell_ , on the field, that we don’t know the effect of. And if you don’t kill him this turn, you’ll lose next turn as he resummons all his monsters, banishing your Superstar, and attacking your weak monsters.. Destroy his scales, find a way to get rid of your weak monsters, and settle for destroying one dragon.”

“That’s…” Sawatari frowned, upset that Ai had a good idea. “I don’t think that will work. But I’ll do it just to prove to you it won’t work, because I’m losing regardless.”

Ai gave Sawatari a thumbs up, and nodded.

“I activate [ Abyss Script - Rise of the Abyss King ](https://imgur.com/a/QvCsvXA)! This card allows me to destroy face-up cards, equal to the amount of attack position Abyss Actors I control. I choose… Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior, Dragonox the Empowered Warrior, and Abyss Actor - Wild Hope”

“How very clever of you.” Bram nodded. “Cutting me off from re-summoning my high level Pendulum Monsters, while also preventing me from using the battle effects of my two Pendulum spells.A terrific play, although I am perplexed as to why you’ve destroyed your own monster.”

“Are you really? Next, I activate the effect of Abyss Actor - Evil Heel in my Pendulum Zone. It allows me to tribute my Sassy Rookie, to lower your monster's attack by its attack!”

( **Aether The Empowering Evil Dragon Atk** : 2300 → 600)

“I was hoping your Sassy Rookie would stick around.” Bram laughed. “I understand now.”

“You were planning on attacking my weaker monsters next turn, and wiping out my life points. I removed that possibility.” Sawatari grinned.

“Sawatari Shingo is playing like his life depends on it!” Nico Smiley said. “I don’t fully understand what just happened, but it seemed smart.”

“Next, I’ll use the effect of [ Abyss Actor - Twinkle Little Star ](https://imgur.com/a/LRXZzeJ) . It allows my Superstar to attack all of your dragons at once, at the cost of preventing me from attacking with any other monster. Good thing he likes to hog the spotlight. Abyss Actor - Superstar, attack his dragons!” ( **Bram LP** : 4000 → 1700)

“I end my turn.” 

Bram wiped the sweat from his brow, and drew a card.

 **Turn 5** : Bram

Bram looked at his hand silently, rubbing his temple, mumbling something under his breath. “I pass.” He said.

 **Turn 6** : Sawatari

“What?” Sawatari said. Was the plan actually working? The plan never worked. They always pulled something out at the last second, like the time he’d fought a man that mysteriously looked a lot like Yuya, and upon destroying all three of his trap cards, discovered that they were worthless trap cards that _literally do nothing unless the opponent destroyed them_. Or the time when Yuya drew five cards in one turn against him, and then still only won because he pulled a better action card than him. Action cards in general were the bane of his existence, but thankfully the most recent errata to the professional circuit’s ruleset had removed them from the game. Which means that Sawatari would have easily beaten Yuya that one time if they were playing by the current rules. Which means that Sawatari really is better than Yuya. He had been slighted, fated to not win by measures out of his control. Which means-

“Sawatari, take your turn.” Ai tugged on Sawatari’s sleeve.

“Oh. _Right_.” Sawatari said. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

 **Turn 6** : Sawatari, but actually this time

“I draw! I Pendulum Summon Wild Hope and Sassy Rookie back to the field.” Sawatari said, eying Bram’s empty field. “Next, I’ll activate Abyss Actor - Wild Hope’s effect, giving it 1900 attack!”

Sawatari poured over his cards, checking if he was missing anything. Even staring at an empty field, he was deathly afraid of choking away this victory. 

Bram smiled, and bowed to Sawatari. “It was an honorable duel.”

“Does that mean… I attack directly with Abyss Actor - SuperStar! **Pompous Performance!** ” 

**Bram LP** : 1700 → 0

Sawatari smiled ear to ear, positively beaming. “Thank you for the duel, Bram. And thank you to the lovely audience, for watching this great duel! I love you all.”

The small audience cheered. Sawatari closed his eyes, and absorbed their applause, something he’d desperately missed.

Sawatari walked home happily, frequently breaking out into skipping. Ai pinched his arm.

“Ow!” Sawatari said.

“That’s what you get for doubting me. I’m a great duelist! I almost beat the great Playmaker once.” Ai said.

“I don’t know who that is.” Sawatari said. “But you’re right, I’m sorry for doubting you. Please continue to teach me, if you will.”

“Of course, you’re my sidekick! I never abandon my side kicks.” Ai said.

Sawatari kept smiling, but the thought of being Ai’s side kick deflated his enthusiasm ever so slightly.

Sawatari’s phone rang. It was Shun.

“Hello?”

“It’s Shun. Are you busy tonight?”

“I’m not. If you want to hang out, I just won my first professional duel in a while. We can celebrate!”

“I don’t care about that _at all_.” Shun said. “I may have a lead on what we spoke about last we met. Come by in two hours, make sure you’re not followed. Oh, and bring a ski mask. We’re going on a heist.”

Shun hung up.

“Is everything alright?” Ai asked.

Sawatari scratched his head, confused. “ I guess I need to buy a ski mask.”


	3. The Break In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawatari, Shun, and Ai break into the Leo corporation
> 
> Author's Note: Much less time between chapter releases this time! I tentatively think I should be able to release these bi-monthly, but don't actually hold me to that.

“Why is your ski mask purple?!” Shun asked, his head in his hands. 

“Because I really like the color purple.” Sawatari shrugged.

“The whole point of ski masks is to be inconspicuous, a purple ski mask-” Shun stopped, and sighed. “You know what, never mind. Just get inside.”

Sawatari followed Shun into his apartment, Ai discreetly tucked into the digital crevice in Sawatari’s duel disk. There was a man tied up, chained to a chair, with duct tape covering his mouth. Shun nonchalantly stepped over the tied up man, and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Do you want any?” Shun asked. “It’s not good, but it is hot.”

“I’m OK.” Sawatari courteously declined. “Shun, why is there a man tied up in your apartment?”

“Oh, right. I didn’t tell you.” Shun sipped his coffee. “Don’t you recognize who he is?”

“He’s um.” Sawatari looked closely at the man tied up. He had dark skin, and a portion of his head was filled in with a metal plate. He tried to say something to Sawatari, but it came out as incoherent.

“Is this the goober who lost to Zarc literally the turn he joined the duel?” Sawatari asked.

“This is Professor Leo Akaba, the former leader of the fusion dimension. He ordered an attack on the XYZ dimension, with the express intent on sacrificing the lives of our citizens to resurrect his daughter. He planned to use Ruri, Yuzu, Serena, and Rin’s lives as meaningless tokens to be cast aside for his precious daughter. He is the reason that Yuto and Ruri were taken from me.” Shun said. “But now that you mention it, he is also the goober that lost to Zarc literally the turn he joined the duel. I’m surprised that you didn’t recognize him.”

“I was helping Gongenzeka get back on his feet when Yuya met this guy, I guess.” Sawatari said. “Gongenzaka is really slow.”

“I also missed the party on confronting the professor here.” Shun scowled. “Someone tased me. I don’t understand why they would duel Yuya but tase me, but nevertheless, I got tased.”

“It does seem more efficient to just tase you both.” Sawatari pondered.

Shun ripped off Leo’s duct tape, causing Leo to howl in pain. “Tell Sawatari here what you told me.”

“Fine. But it won’t do you any good.” Leo sighed. He turned his head toward Sawatari. “The Dimensional Duel Disks that Shun got his hand on, they work. I’ve been monitoring dimensional activity, trying to atone for my crimes by stopping anything else from happening. I saw a sharp spike in activity in this exact apartment. When I knocked on the door, Shun saw me through the window, and slammed the door into my head. I woke up tied up.”

“The Dimensional Duel Disk part was the important part, he deserved the rest.” Shun said. “The duel disk I gave you, is it at my apartment?”

“Oh.” Sawatari looked down at his arm. “I guess I’m wearing it right now. It stopped smoking and I like the color of this one more. It’s purple!”

Shun snatched the duel disk off of Sawatari’s arm, knocking Ai out of the duel disk in the process. Shun immediately noticed Ai, staring at the small purple creature below him with a mixture of confusion and horror.

“Sawatari, what is that?” Shun asked.

“That’s Ai. He uh, he came from another dimension.” Sawatari said, saying each word softer as he realized that perhaps he should have informed Shun about his new friend.

“Hi!” Ai extended his hand. Shun glared at Sawatari, a blood vessel about to pop.

“You’ve been in contact with this… _thing_ from another dimension, and you didn’t tell me? Are you working against me? Are you in cahoots with the Akabas, is Reiji Akaba about to storm in here any second?”

“Ai isn’t a thing, he’s an AI!” Sawatari said. Ai nodded in solidarity. “Shun, how would I be working with the Akaba’s if I didn’t even recognize Leo?”

“He makes a good point!” Leo said. Shun mumbled something under his breath and put a new patch of duct tape over Leo’s mouth. 

“Ai’s been teaching me more about dueling, and it honestly didn’t occur to me that you would want to know about him. He’s from a dimension beyond Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ. I figured I’d introduce him to you if we ever had another game night, you need at least three people to play a good game of Monopoly.”

“Wait, can we actually play Monopoly?” Ai asked.

Shun ignored him, looking at Sawatari with a discerning gaze. He started to breathe deeply, calming down. “Ok, I believe you. I apologize for going off on you like that, I’ve been a little on edge as of late. It is nice to meet you… Ai.”

“Likewise!” Ai said. He extended his hand once more. This time, Shun accepted it, uneasily shaking Ai’s tiny hand. 

“What summoning method does your dimension use?” Shun asked.

“We use primarily link summoning, but the other summon types are used too. Other than pendulum, that’s stupid nonsense.” Sawatari glared at an unapologetic Ai. Shun cracked a slight smile, but hid it before his guests could notice. He cleared his throat.

“I’d understand if you two want to leave here right now.” Shun said. “You have no horse in this race, and I’m about to make some very powerful enemies. But if you do want to help me, I can help you too. I have a plan for you, Sawatari.”

“I…” Sawatari stopped, to seriously think about his situation. “I want to help you Shun. The way things ended, I’m just as unsatisfied with it as you are. But I also want to continue dueling. Winning earlier today, the crowd cheering me on, it felt really good. How likely is it we can pull whatever this is off without hurting my dueling career?”

“We just can’t get caught.” Shun smiled slightly again. This time Sawatari noticed it, and smiled in return. “As for hurting your duel career, if all goes according to plan, this will help your dueling career. A lot.”

Sawatari cocked his head in confusion, but decided not to ask. “Ok, I trust you. Are you with me, Ai?”

“I have nowhere else to be, so let’s go rob a place! Where exactly are we robbing?” Ai asked Shun.

“The Leo Corporation.” Shun grinned.

Shun untaped Leo Akaba’s mouth, gave him some water and crackers, and reapplied the tape. Sawatari Ai and Shun all walked to the Leo Corporation, Sawatari and Ai comparing their dimension’s versions of Monopoly. They concluded that the rules were the same in both dimensions.

“Why couldn’t villains play life or death games of Monopoly?” Sawatari complained. “I would wipe the floor with them.”

“It’d take too long! Noone would want to rule the world if they had to play multiple games of Monopoly in a row.” Ai said.

“Seems like a win win to me.” Sawatari said.

“Shut up.” Shun said. “We’re here.”

They looked up at the hourglass shaped headquarters of the Leo Corporation. 

“It’s kind of odd that Leo Akaba named his corporation after his first name. Who does that?” Sawatari pondered.

“A bastard.” Shun said. “Now come on, we don’t want to be noticed. And put on your masks.”

Shun swiped Leo Akaba’s card at the entrance, as Sawatari fumbled for his mask. The card reader beeped once, and a green light flashed. The door unlocked with a slight click.

“Come on.” Shun said. “What we’re looking for lies in the basement.”

Sawatari and Shun crept to the elevator. Shun swiped the card once more, and hit the Basement level button. A red light flashed, and it beeped sharply. Shun noticed a card reader for further clearance, and quickly swiped it. The elevator slowly began to descend. 

The elevator opened into a vast warehouse, stocked with boxes of neatly sorted cards. “Watch my back Sawatari, first I need to hack into the Pro Dueling scheduling system in area C-23.”

“Got it.” Sawatari said, only kind of getting it. He followed close behind as Shun began to walk at a brisk pace.

“Four eyes are better than two!” Ai triumphantly declared, shaping his hands into pretend binoculars. Shun harshly shushed him, and looked down at his duel disk screen, evidently for directions.

“It should be… here.” Shun said. 

A glass door stood between them, and an intricate set of holographic screens. Shun began trying to decode the door code.

“Is that… Hey Sawatari, I’ll be back in just a sec.” Ai said, jumping out of his crevice. Sawatari looked back in confusion, wondering where Ai could be going at a time like this. But by the time he’d turn around, the small ignis was lost in the endless maze of boxes.

Shun did not notice, busy cursing at a door lock.

“Entry rejected. You have: One more try before security is called.”

“Dammit.” Shun said. “Sawatari, how’s your 50 yard dash?”

“I would say… above average?” Sawatari said. “I’ve actually been exercising steadily since the incident with the Battle Beast. My running skills saved my life there. I know you weren’t there, but the Battle Beast incident was actually quite traumatic for me-”

Shun shuffled through his deck, and placed “Raid Raptor - Rise Falcon” into his duel disk. The force of the solid vision summoning hologram shattered the glass door entirely. An alarm went off. Shun calmly walked to the holo display, shaking shattered glass from his coat as he moved. He scanned a card in front of the holo display, and then typed for a minute. Finally, he turned to Sawatari.

“We should run.” Shun said.

Sawatari and Shun began to run. “Didn’t we need one more thing?” Sawatari asked.

“Shit. Yes, yes we do.” Shun said. He made a sharp turn into a hall of boxes. Sawatari followed.

“It should be box R3-45C.” Shun said. He briefly scanned the rack of boxes, before jumping up, and grabbing one on the top row. He shuffled through the box of cards, stopping in the third row and pulling out two cards. He handed them to Sawatari.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware Sawatari, but the whole “Pendulum Dimension” thing is a farce. Reiji Akaba simply printed the pendulum cards that the Lancers and the general public now use, they didn’t pop out of thin air. Reiji approached me with Raid Raptor pendulum cards, but I vehemently declined.”

“Because Pendulum cards are stupid!” Ai said, appearing out of nowhere. He was holding what appeared to be a smart watch, the size of his head. 

“Right.” Shun said. “But when Reiji made these new pendulum cards for the Lancers, he also made two new pendulum cards for you Sawatari.”

“He did? Why didn’t I ever get them?” Sawatari frowned.

“Reiji forgot that you already used Pendulum when he made the cards. When he realized his mistake, he figured there was no point in giving them to you. So, he stuck them in storage.”

“Did Reiji not watch any of my duels…? Sawatari said, not so subtly holding back tears. “Wait, he gave me the Abyss Actors in the first place!”

“I forgot,” A voice boomed. “Because your duels were worthless Sawatari. Every deck either given to you or god forbid built by you, has been winless.”

“Reiji.” Shun looked up with contempt.

“Hello Shun. Hello Sawatari. Care to explain why you’re robbing my company?” Reiji Akaba asked.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you.” Shun snapped. He turned to Sawatari. “You have a duel at 6pm tonight, at Heartland Stadium. Don’t be late. Ideally I’ll be able to contact you later, but if you don’t hear from me, assume the worst.”

“What? What are you talking about Shun?” Sawatari asked, incredulously.

Shun pulled a card from his pocket, and quickly jammed it into his duel disk. “I summon Raid Raptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon.” 

The solid mass of Satellite Cannon Falcon began to form under Sawatari’s feet, thrusting him into the air. Ai quickly grabbed hold of Sawatari’s pant leg, holding on for dear life. Shun’s monster began to rapidly ascend, raising its cannon at the ceiling. It fired, the solid mass energy breaking through on impact. Sawatari rose through the ceiling, through a tunnel of bedrock, into the lobby.

Satellite Cannon Falcon faded away, gently letting Sawatari down. He ran through the door as fast as he could. Shun breathed a sigh of relief, and turned towards Reiji.

“Heard from your father lately?” he smirked.

Reiji stepped forwards, raising his duel disk. “I should have guessed you were involved with his disappearance. You never did move on from the past.”

“Oh, I am moving on from the past. By fixing its wrongs. I’m not sure if you knew Reiji, but I’m a bit of a revolutionary.”

“Oh really, no I couldn’t tell by Revolution being in the name of half of your cards.” Reiji said.

Shun laughed. “So. Duel?”

Reiji nodded his head solemnly. “Duel.”


	4. The Rising Wings of Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shun and Reiji duel, in a heated exchange of ideals and values. The two lancers reminisce.

Shun stared Reiji down, drawn in by his unwavering gaze. Reiji nodded, a silent understanding of the stakes of this duel. Shun had forfeited his right to be a lancer, standing against the greatest heroes this dimension had to offer. 

“I don’t understand you.” Reiji said.

“I don’t need you to.” Shun said. “I just need you to lose this duel.”

**Shun LP: 4000 Reiji LP: 4000**

**Turn 1: Shun**

“I summon [ RaidRaptor - Mimicry Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/izCEyxQ) . Next, I’ll special summon [ RaidRaptor - Fuzzy Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/hTtKeJL) from my hand, using its effect. I construct the overlay network! I overlay Mimicry Lanius and Fuzzy Lanius to summon [ RaidRaptor - Force Strix ](https://imgur.com/a/6FJJJJb) in defense position. It gains 500 attack and defense for every Raidraptor on the field, including itself! **(Force Strix Def: 2000 → 2500)**

“A defensive play from Kurosaki Shun, how out of character.” Reiji remarked.

“Perhaps if you haven’t paid attention.” Shun replied. “When I duel with conviction, my play style can morph into whatever it needs to be to win.”

“Then it better start morphing.” Reiji smirked. “Thus far you’ve shown me nothing I should be worried about.”

Shun scoffed, and looked towards his cards. “I activate Force Strix’s effect, allowing me to detach one XYZ material, and add one RaidRaptor card to my hand. I’ll choose to add [ RaidRaptor - Vanishing Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/HmCOFLW) . Next, I’ll activate the effect of my newly detached XYZ material in the graveyard, [ Mimicry Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/izCEyxQ) . It allows me to banish itself to search for another Raid Raptor card. I’ll add [ RaidRaptor - Sharp Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/Tk7hpYE). I set three cards, and I end my turn.

**Shun LP: 4000 Reiji LP: 4000**

**Turn 2: Reiji**

Reiji briefly paused to think, and drew a card. “I draw. I activate [ Dark Contract with the Gate ](https://imgur.com/a/gRo2VRc) , allowing me to search for a D/D card. I add [ D/D Swirl Slime ](https://imgur.com/a/hwi70Nv) to my hand. Next, I activate [ Swirl Slime’s ](https://imgur.com/a/hwi70Nv) effect, allowing me to fuse itself, and [ D/D/D Pendragon ](https://imgur.com/a/k1oK1he) from my hand, summoning [ D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf ](https://imgur.com/a/ZZ1YQqg) . Next, I’ll summon [ D/D Nighthowl ](https://imgur.com/a/uZ9lfxg) from my hand, allowing me to special summon [ D/D/D Pendragon ](https://imgur.com/a/k1oK1he) back from my grave. I tune these two monsters together, to summon [ D/D/D Gust High King Alexander ](https://imgur.com/a/08EqoaA) . Now, I activate [ D/D Swirl Slime’s effect ](https://imgur.com/a/hwi70Nv) , summoning [ D/D/D Doom King Armageddon ](https://imgur.com/a/cFg4ga9) from my hand. This triggers [ D/D/D Gust High King’ ](https://imgur.com/a/08EqoaA) s effect, allowing me to special summon [ D/D/D Pendragon ](https://imgur.com/a/k1oK1he) back from the grave once more.”

“That is a lot of monsters.” Shun remarked.

“I drew poorly if you must know.” Reiji said. “Typically I would have five monsters. I’ll have to settle for decimating your life points with four monsters, oh well. [ D/D/D Gust High King’s ](https://imgur.com/a/08EqoaA)effect activates, doubling its attack when I control three or more D/D/D monsters.”

**(Gust High King Atk: 3000 → 6000)**

“I attack Force Strix with Gust High King Alexander.” Reiji said.

“It’s in defense position, so I don’t take any damage.” Shun said.

“D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf’s effect gives all of my monsters piercing damage.” Reiji said.

“Oh.” Shun said. “Oh no.”

**(Shun LP: 4000 → 500)**

“I activate the effect of [ Fuzzy Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/hTtKeJL) in my graveyard. When it’s sent to the graveyard, I can search my deck for another Fuzzy Lanius. Next, I’ll activate [ Rank-Up-Magic Doom Double Force ](https://imgur.com/a/8HxpLAR) , allowing me to XYZ summon a monster with double Force Strix’s rank, and attach Force Strix to it as XYZ Material. I summon [ RaidRaptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon ](https://imgur.com/a/i92g5Dx)! Its effect activates, destroying your Dark Contract with the Gate.”

“An admirable play. Too bad it won’t matter. I attack Satellite Cannon Falcon with Dragonbane King Beowulf.” Reiji said.

“Their attack points are the same.” Shun remarked. “An aggressively bull headed move Reiji, what happened to the cool, calculating duelist?”

“A very stupid man with the hair of a parrot kidnapped his father.” Reiji said.

“Your father is a war criminal and deserves to be punished.” Shun said. “Just because you and Yuya are this dimension’s heroes does not mean that you can ignore the hands of justice.”

“Academia would be furious if we detained him. Do you want another war?” Reiji said.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if he’d killed your sister.” Shun said. “You would do everything in your power to tear him down. To tear _this_ down. This wretched dimension, this state of faux happiness, in which we pretend everything turned out fine. Academia is a blight upon the earth, and I refuse to pardon a single sin of theirs.”

Reiji sighed, and looked down at Shun.“This _wretched dimension_ is the original dimension, Shun. I’m sorry if you’d like to stay willfully ignorant, but it’s the truth. Then again, you’ve always been an obstinate bastard. I don’t expect to convince you, but you have to realize that this outcome, this dimension, it is a favorable outcome. We saved your dimension, the place you’ve fought tooth and nail your entire youth to protect from invaders. We got rid of Zarc. No ending to a conflict as big as that will be perfect, but by all accounts this is an optimal outcome.” 

Shun chuckled, running his hand over his facedown card. “Zarc gone… I wonder about that. I activate [ RaidRaptor - Readiness ](https://imgur.com/a/mr32YYd). It protects my Satellite Cannon Falcon from destruction this turn.”

“An expected outcome.” Reiji said. “I don’t know what you think you know about Zarc, but it does not matter. I am going to defeat you here, and then stop the confused buffon you’ve sent to enact your plans.”

“I recall that you once manipulated that “confused buffoon”, sending him to do your bidding without context or reason. At Least I genuinely want to help him. You sent him into a war he had no part in, a perfectly normal child, the son of the mayor, a bright future ahead of him.” Shun said.

“Sawatari and normal don’t go in the same sentence.” Reiji said.

Shun suppressed a laugh.

Reiji pushed up his glasses. “Back to the duel. I activate the effect of [ D/D/D Doom King Armageddon ](https://imgur.com/a/cFg4ga9). It gains attack equal to my slain Beowulf.

**(Armageddon Attack: 3000 → 6000)**

Shun said nothing, glaring at Reiji with a look of determination.

“I attack your Falcon, putting your worthless flailing of meaningless rebelling to an end.” Reiji said. “You failed, Shun.”

“Are you blind, or just “willfully ignorant”? I still have another facedown.” Shun said. “I activate [ Concentrating Current ](https://imgur.com/a/FvORTep), adding the equivalent of Satellite Cannon Falcon’s defense to its offense. 

**(Satellite Cannon Falcon Attack: 3000 → 5000)**

“Next, I activate[ Satellite Cannon Falcon’s ](https://imgur.com/a/i92g5Dx) effect, allowing me to detach one XYZ material, and target a monster you control. It loses 800 attack for every RaidRaptor in my graveyard. I select D/D/D Doom King Armageddon.”

**(Armageddon Attack; 6000 → 4400)**

Reiji frowned as his monster shattered before his eyes. “I suppose I will have to finish you off next turn.”

“As if you’ll have a next turn.” Shun said. “I draw!”

**(Shun LP: 500) (Reiji LP: 3400)**

**Turn 3: Shun**

“I activate [ Rank-Up-Magic Soul Shave Force ](https://imgur.com/a/oL864pC). It summons Force Strix from my grave, and allows me to use it as XYZ material for a XYZ monster two ranks higher. I construct the overlay network! I summon RaidRaptor - Revolution Falcon!”

**(Shun LP: 500 → 250)**

“Wrong. You summon nothing.” Reiji said. “ I activate [ Fiend Griefing ](https://imgur.com/a/OIqIoCE), allowing me to send a fiend from my deck to the graveyard, and shuffle your Force Strix into the deck before it hits the field.”

“Damn.” Shun said. 

“You’re not winning this duel, Shun.” Reiji said.

“Yuto’s life is on the line.” Shun said, a far off look on his face. “I can’t afford to lose.”

“Yuto is gone, Shun. He’s rejoined his source, within Yuya.” Reiji said

“His “source”, what a joke. Yuto has as much of a right to life as Yuya, Yuya is not his “source”. Just because Zarc wants to be Yuya instead of Yuto, does not make Yuya any more worthy of legitimacy.”

“Zarc is gone, Shun. He ceased to exist because of the effect of Yuya’s entertainment.”

“I don’t care if Zarc died to a baby’s laugh, Reiji. Weird way to die by the way. No, I’m saying something else. I discussed with your father the likelihood that all of Zarc’s power has disappeared. He told me that, while Zarc’s consciousness has certainly disappeared, some of his power likely lays dormant within Yuya. Alongside the dormant soul of my companion. And I’m getting it back, no matter the cost.” Shun said, gripping his fists tightly. 

“I summon [ RaidRaptor - Sharp Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/Tk7hpYE) , and special summon [ RaidRaptor - Fuzzy Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/hTtKeJL) from my hand. I construct the overlay network! I summon [ RaidRaptor - Blade Burner Falcon ](https://imgur.com/a/fxYGcsX)! Blade Burner Falcon gains 3000 attack if I have 3000 less lifepoints than you the turn it is summoned. 

**( Blade Burner Falcon Attack 1000 → 4000)**

“I attack D/D/D Gust High King Alexander!” Shun said.

**(Reiji LP: 3400 → 2400)**

“Nothing but the desperate thrashing of a man who knows he’s doom to lose.” Reiji said. 

“Oh, I’m not done yet.” Shun said. “After I destroy a monster by battle with Blade Burner Falcon, I can detach one material, and destroy a monster you control. Say goodbye to your Pendragon Reiji.”

“You’re not winning this you bastard.” Reiji said.

“I attack you directly with Satellite Cannon Falcon.” Shun said.

“I activate [ Counter Gate ](https://imgur.com/a/2IDl1Dh) .” Reiji said. “This negates your attack, and allows me to draw one card. If it is a monster, I can normal summon it. I draw!” Reiji checked his draw, and smiled. “I summon [ D/D Savant Kepler ](https://imgur.com/a/WbLhwmx) . Its effect allows me to add a Dark Contract card to my hand. I add another [ Dark Contract with the Gate ](https://imgur.com/a/gRo2VRc) to my hand.”

“I suppose I’ll have to finish you off next turn.” Shun said, in a mocking tone.

“As if you’ll get a next turn.” Reiji said, oblivious that this exact interaction had occurred the turn before. Shun sighed.

“Does it ever feel to you that you’re just moving in circles?” Shun asked.

“No, I pride myself on my forward momentum.” Reiji said.

“You’re a damned robot, you don’t feel anything at all.” Shun said. “I just feel as though, after everything that I’ve gone through, fighting a war, saving my city, there was no reward. No point in time where I felt as though I’d accomplished something. No, instead I’ve been brought back to the loneliest I’ve ever been. But this time, no one's on my side. A rebel without an army. I’m falling backwards, and all I can do is pretend I’m not, and keep moving towards my cause.”

“I think,” Reiji started, “that you’re unable to fathom a life in which you are not fighting for something, against someone. You’ve lost your close companions, and I feel for you. But the war is over, and the time for peace is now. Lay down your duel disk, and I will overlook this act of rebellion. You and Sawatari can get off scot free, he can even keep the cards he stole from me.”

Shun made a desperate noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. He looked up at Reiji, covered in snot and tears. “I’m sorry. But I can’t.”

“Very well. Allow me to end this useless rebellion of yours then. I draw.”

**(Shun LP: 250) (Reiji LP: 2400)**

**Turn 4: Reiji**

“I activate the effect of my [ D/D Necro Slime ](https://imgur.com/a/9HmfLBe) , that I sent to the graveyard with [ Fiend Griefing ](https://imgur.com/a/OIqIoCE) . It allows me to fusion summon a monster, using it and another monster in my grave as material. I banish D/D Necro Slime, and D/D Nighthowl to summon [ D/D/D Flame King Genghis ](https://imgur.com/a/j59O0Ji) . Next, I activate [ Dark Contract with the Gate ](https://imgur.com/a/gRo2VRc) , allowing me to add [ D/D Lamia ](https://imgur.com/a/F0Y7xfm) to my hand. I activate Lamia’s effect, sending Dark Contract with the Gate to the graveyard to special summon itself! This triggers Flame King Genghis’s effect, allowing me to summon [ D/D/D Gust High King Alexander ](https://imgur.com/a/08EqoaA) from my graveyard. Next, I tribute both Lamia, and D/D Savant Kepler, to summon [ D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnorak ](https://imgur.com/a/yv0LTSo) from my hand! I activate two effects! I can summon [ D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf ](https://imgur.com/a/ZZ1YQqg) from my grave with the effect of High King Alexander, and [ D/D/D Dragon King Pendragon ](https://imgur.com/a/k1oK1he) with the effect of Oblivion King Ragnarok. And with a grand total of 5 D/D/D monsters on the field, my High King Alexander gains 3000 attack once more. See Shun? I told you I normally summon five monsters at once. Prepare for defeat.”

Shun stared blankly forwards, unresponsive. “Nice monsters.” He halfheartedly replied.

“I see that you’ve accepted defeat already. I shall grant it to you.” Reiji said. “I attack RaidRaptor - Blade Burner Falcon with D/D/D High King Alexander! This is the end, Shun.”

“I activate [ RaidRaptor - Readiness ](https://imgur.com/a/mr32YYd) in my graveyard.” Shun calmly responded. “By banishing it when I have a RaidRaptor in my graveyard, I take no damage this turn. Then, I add one more Fuzzy Lanius to my hand with the effect of [ RaidRaptor - Fuzzy Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/hTtKeJL) in my graveyard.”

Reiji swore under his breath. “Very well. During my Main Phase 2, I activate Oblivion King Ragnarok’s effect. I tribute D/D/D Flame King Genghis, and banish your RaidRaptor Satellite Cannon Falcon. I end my turn.”

**(Shun LP: 250) (Reiji LP: 2400)**

**Turn 5: Shun**

Shun examined his hand, silently. Reiji looked onward, an annoyed look on his face. Shun started to smile. Slight at first, his smile grew wider and wider, to an uncomfortable degree. He started to laugh.

“We really are going in circles.” Shun said. “I normal summon RaidRaptor - Vanishing Lanius, activating its effect to summon [ RaidRaptor - Vanishing Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/HmCOFLW) from my hand. Next, I special summon [ RaidRaptor - Fuzzy Lanius ](https://imgur.com/a/hTtKeJL) from my hand.”

“Are you about to summon-” Reiji said

“Obscured falcon, raise your claws sharpened by adversity! Spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! [ Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon ](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Raidraptor_-_Rise_Falcon_\(anime\))!” Shun screamed out. “My first RaidRaptors XYZ, my old friend. Bring forth rebellion with me once more.”

Reiji scowled, resigned to defeat.

“I activate Rise Falcon’s effect! It gains the attack of all special summoned monsters you control.”

**(RaidRaptor - Rise Falcon Attack: 100 → 13900)**

“You can’t stop this rebellion, Reiji. I rebel against this entire dimension, I refuse your peace, and I reject your sympathy. Tonight, after Sawatari’s duel, everything will be changed forever. Now, Rise Falcon, attack!”

**(Reiji LP: 2400 → 0)**

Reiji flew backwards at the force of the attack, smacking against the concrete walls with a dull thud. He crumpled onto the ground, barely conscious.

“I don’t understand you Shun. You talk of how important this rebellion is, but you leave it in the hands of someone as incompetent as Sawatari. Are you sane?” Reiji asked.

“The next phase of this plan only works because of Sawatari’s unreliable reputation. He’s the centerpiece of the entire operation.”

Reiji passed out, extremely confused. Shun stole his card key, and got on the elevator.

  
  
  


“So who am I dueling again?” Sawatari asked Ai, as he walked into the Heartland stadium.

“No clue, I’ve never heard of the guy.” Ai said. “If I haven’t heard of him, he probably isn’t very important.”

“You’ve only heard of like three people in this dimension.” Sawatari said.

“Exactly!” Ai said. “And you’re the most important of those three people. You can easily sweep the floor with this nobody.”

Sawatari walked onto the duel field, momentarily filled with confidence from the hype of his little friend. It quickly evaporated, as he saw who his opponent was.

“Folks, it’s Nico Smiley, the only duel announcer in the entire world, back to commentate another duel! In one corner, we have Sawatari Shingo, hot off of his first win in part of a fifty duel loss streak! And in the other corner, well I hardly think he needs introduction. But I’ll do so anyways, because it is my job! The one, the only, Yuya Sakaki!”

Yuya walked onto the field, a smile on his face. Just his warm presence lit up the room.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!”


End file.
